I like Cuomo’s approach to law enforcement (imagine a world where cops can get tickets too). Hopefully he’ll come to NYC next and personally hand out tickets for speeding and failing to yield to pedestrians.

Bob

Is it just me, or has there not been a “great” news headline since about 2008? I don’t mean this against Streetsblog, I mean that NYC hasn’t instituted truly transformative projects (like the Times Square improvements) since then. The wonderful 34th Street plan was decimated. No new protected bike lanes (saddened to see no protected bike lanes in DOT’s Village-area bike lane presentation last week); obviously no congestion pricing; no great building code updates as to parking.

I know Citi Bike is an astonishing success; but Citi Bike does not change the streetscape – it just adds bikes to the present layout (though, happily it does remove some street parking in favor of many more bikes). When Mayor Bloomberg won a third term, I figured this would be his boldest time for new transportation ideas. 34th Street looked like the beginning of that; the original plan for the Sheridan looked like it as well. Perhaps, I am being overly pessimistic, especially when you consider all the positive changes in the last 8 years. I assumed we would see marvels in this term; instead, we (mostly) get headlines about more of the same: at best, half-way ideas (the Village-area bike lanes) or, at worst, continued non-enforcement of speed laws for cars, but ridiculous ticketing of bikers.

Anonymous

There have been significant bike lane expansions, for example 1st and 2nd Avenues in East Harlem, and the protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue is slated to be expanded very soon and connected to the 9th Avenue lane (although a small part of it will just be sharrows if I remember correctly). I’m sure I’m forgetting many other examples.

But more importantly, I think you underestimate Citi Bike. Not because its 5000 bikes or so will greatly increase bike traffic by themselves (although I wouldn’t say the increase is negligible either), but because it gets many more “normal” people on a bike, at least occasionally, which changes popular perception significantly. You now even see articles on what to wear on a Citi Bike on the fashion and style sections of the paper. Also, I do believe that there will be an amplifier effect when people who like Citi Bike but get fed up with the uncertainty of empty/full stations decide to start using their own bike.

Kevin Love

And how did we know that one of the drivers was an off-duty NYPD officer? Yes, he must have identified himself as such, thinking that (as per usual) the ticket would then magically vanish. Fortunately, the cameras were running so the usual didn’t happen.

Daphna

Eyes of the street: the preliminary markings for the protected bike lane extension on Columbus Avenue from 96th to 110th Street were put down yesterday.

Bob

qrt: Good points, certainly. I did not mean to appear to underestimate Citi Bike, because I really don’t: I think it has the potential to revolutionize the City, especially as the system grows. But if we transported back back to Jan. 2010 and you told me we would be here (and note above the cancellation of the 125th St SBS), I would have laughed in your face. I would have bet the house that protected bike lanes would be on nearly every avenue in Manhattan, maybe some good changes on Queens Blvd, BRT throughout the boroughs, etc. (and, as noted earlier, parking reform and 34th street plan).

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you and I do not want to seem ridiculous because over the last 8 years, NYC has obviously made incredible changes. My real gripe is the missed opportunity of the Mayor’s third term: a fantastic transportation mayor with a fantastic DOT commissioner (and a mayor with no political obligations or political future). I think Chris Quinn would do a pretty good job with transportation if she wins; but she probably won’t have the political freedom to make the groundbreaking changes Mayor Bloomberg could have continued to make.

Bronxite

I wish the DOT would mark the lanes before building the islands. The sooner we can use them, the better.

Daphna

First Avenue from 96th to 125th Street has free parking but badly needs metered parking. People use it for long term car storage and move their cars only for street sweeping. It is a busy retail/commercial stretch with a strong need for short term parking but there is no turnover of the curbside spaces without the meters. Consequentially, there is rampant double parking. Community Board 11 needs to ask for 1st and 2nd Avenues to be metered through East Harlem. The DOT wants to do it but is waiting for the community board to ask. Until then, people solve their short term parking needs with double parking since there is never curbside availability. Had the bike lane been striped in this section ahead of the islands, it would have been a parking lot. The only thing that will give this bike lane a fighting chance of functioning as a bike lane rather than as a parking lot is the islands. They needed to be installed first in this section.